Immortal of the League
by KitsuneSwordsman95
Summary: For centuries I have wandered this world, learning, exploring, watching. And I have to say, I've never been so bored before in my life. There is nothing I haven't done before. That's what I thought before I met them. I'm glad I did. ImmortalStrongEd
1. An Immortal's Tale

**Hi guys, I'm really sorry about the wait on all my stories. I have had a huge dry spell when it comes to writing stories and combined with life just made it impossible. I would like to take the time to say that I will be continuing the Immortal of the League, but that I will most likely not be continuing any of my other stories at this time. I am going through some big stuff right now and can't focus a lot of effort into my writing. Again I'm sorry about this. Now I have revamped this story so while there is some things that are the same there is also some differences. Thanks for coming Enjoy the show!**

**KitsuneSwordsman does not own any of the characters used in this story.**

**Edit 8/25/14- Sorry agian just didn't turn out the way I wanted to before. This should be the last time.**

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><p>Walking down the streets to my house I sighed heavily, steadily ignoring the masses that swarmed around me. It was just past seven o' clock at night and the city of Torres Vedras, a medium sized city located in the country of Portugal, was rampant in energy and life. Everywhere you looked you saw happy porturicans shopping, selling, and just enjoying being alive. Here and there I could see little pockets of tourists, soaking in the sights around them with looks of wonderment and awe etched on their faces. Every now and then I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye, signifying a tourist either taking a photo themselves or coercing a helpless native into helping them. Not that they had any trouble doing so. The people here were more than happy to talk andor assist their visitors, as tourism was a rather large business in the city. Most of the tourists came to see The Lines of Torres Vedras, which were a line of forts built in secrecy to defend the city of Lisbon during the Napoleonic Wars in defense against the French army. The most famous of these forts was the one in Torres Vedras itself, large enough to hold as many as five thousand men. Other tourists came to see the beaches or find a place to rest before making their way into Lisbon. They came from all different corners of the globe, most of them history buffs, but they all had one thing in common with one another…

"Excuse me sir," came a voice from behind me. Sighing I turned around, completing my earlier train of thought, 'they were extremely annoying.'

Standing in front of me was a pair of tourists, easily recognizable as such by their blond hair and blue eyes, probably from Britain judging from the accent. The helplessly lost look on both of their faces made it obvious that the two weren't from here. Suppressing my annoyance with long practiced ease I plastered a confused smile across my face.

The man didn't notice the change in my expression, so focused he was as he stared at the map in his hand. "You seem to know where you're going mate; any chance you can help us find our hotel? It's…" At this point I just tuned him out, only a small portion of my mind registering what came out of the tourists' mouth, having heard the stint a thousand different times. It seems that no matter where, or when, they were, tourists just couldn't help but get lost.

I was about to respond to the obviously stressed out man when his wife tugged on his arm, pointing down the street at something that she had seen.

"Oh darling look at that!" she said as she pulled her husband down the street, waving back at me in thanks before leaving me to my business.

Shaking my head at the absentminded couple, I made my way home uninterrupted, a rare occasion for me. Usually I'm stopped by numerous tourists asking for directions because they thought I could speak English, which I could I just didn't want to. It's either them or girls and, I shuddered, the occasional guy trying to ask me out.

Walking into my house I hung my coat up, letting the worn trench coat dangle from a wooden peg in the wall and set my glasses on a nearby table. The unique color of my eyes made them somewhat of a necessity. I made my way over to my bathroom, ready to take my shower and go to bed.

I let the cold water run down my skin, closing my eyes in relief. In all my years of existence, I had never found anything as satisfying as coming home after a hard days training to a cold shower. It was something that I thought made me unique, seeing as how most 'normal' people prefer warm showers. Then again, I'm anything but normal.

Turning off the water, I stepped out of the shower onto the cold bathroom tiles. Approaching the sink with toothbrush in hand I began to brush my teeth. Having completed my evening ritual I looked up, staring down my reflection in the mirror. Eyes the color of molten gold stared back at me, burning with a fire that sometimes I doubt I still possessed. Brushing back my long golden hair, I studied my reflection. In the mirror I saw a young man, in his mid-twenties, with long golden hair and a pair of eyes the same color. The well-defined cheekbones and chin, combined with the long hair and stubble on his chin, gave him a roguish appearance. He had broad shoulders and a well-developed chest with a patch of golden blond hair growing in the center. His chest quivered with every motion he made, the clearly visible muscles twitching at the slightest stimuli. His stomach was completely flat, with a six pack evident to all who could see, and bisected by a line of blond hair. His arms were the perfect combination of wiry and built, not to small as to lose a lot of power but not so big that he had to sacrifice speed. His body looked like that of a perfectly fit twenty two year old but his eyes…his eyes said differently. His eyes spoke of experience beyond his years, of a past filled with triumph and sorrow. Eyes like that, so full of sadness and pride and confidence that one only earned through experience, and was unnatural belonging to a man that young. His name was Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist and Immortal. Sighing I turned away from my reflection walking into my bedroom, knowing but not seeing the large black Flamel Cross tattooed on my back as homage to my teacher and my home. I threw on a pair of pajama bottoms before crawling into bed. For what seemed like hours, I stared up at my ceiling, remembering how I came into this situation.

I woke up over six thousand years ago after making a deal with Truth during the final battle against Father. The leader of the homunculi had just activated his Nationwide Transmutation Circle, ripping the souls out from the citizens of Amestris, all fifty million of them and was using them as a sacrifice to consume 'God.' Only myself and my fellow sacrifices were spared from this fate but we knew that it wasn't going to last. Our status as 'Sacrifices' meant that we had to be the last to be sacrificed in order for the circle to work correctly. The transmutation was like a runaway tank, incapable of being completely stopped at this point but it was possible to change the driver. Working quickly worked to break free from the bindings that Father had me under, stifling the cry of pain that threatened to escape my throat as I dislocated my left shoulder. I clapped my hands together and, stopping at the second step, deconstructed the slimy black appendage that was pinning me down. Ignoring the cries of my brother, my asshole of a father, and Teacher, even as Colonel Bastard screamed at them to tell him what was happening, I ran up to the center of the circle where Father was, dodging the black tentacles that Pride sent after me in my adrenaline induced rush of power. Unfortunately for Father, who was forced to remain focused on the transmutation unless he wanted it to rebound on him, Pride failed to keep me back. Charging at full speed I crashed into the bulbous black body of Father; catching him off guard, which was surprising considering how much of his body was made up of eyes, and knocking him off of the center of the circle. Upon pushing the monstrosity aside I dove into the almost completed transmutation and almost immediately felt my back seize up.

Pain. Excruciating, debilitating, horrendous pain. I thought I knew pain before then, thought that pain was nothing but an old friend. How wrong I was. Even the pain of two automail surgeries, where live wires were attached to my nerves while I was awake, one after the other was nothing compared to the pain I felt then. It had felt like my soul was being torn apart, regrown and then torn anew over and over and over again. For one moment, it could have been a second or an hour; I could feel every single last soul inside of me. The souls of the entire population of Amestris, over fifty million people, were being drawn into my mortal body. And in that moment, I knew them. I knew their quirks, their hopes, their dreams their fears what made them who they were. It was both an incredibly powering, and tremendously humbling experience. And I thought to myself, 'Is this what it feels like to be God?' I hated myself for thinking that, for having the audacity to believe that I was somehow higher than those whom I held inside me. Locking that thought away in the deepest corners of my mind, I focused on the task at hand.

This entire sequence of events happened for what felt like an eternity but as I sensed the transmutation reach its zenith I marshalled my will and forced the flow of souls to reverse itself, sending the souls back to the bodies they originated from. The flood resisted my will at first but I wouldn't be denied. After everything that I had been through I wasn't going to let something as simple as fifty million souls overwhelm me. And so, ever so slowly, the tide turned. I could feel the souls flowing out of me, returning to their rightful places. I took a moment to ensure that the souls of those I knew were safe and present, and then shut down the remainder of the array before I brought my attention on the world around me. I remember hearing Father screaming in rage and Pride screaming in pain, something that fills me with joy to this day. Apparently while I was in the array Hohenheim had managed to get himself free and was pounding away at the monstrosity he had unwittingly created with alchemy while Teacher did the same up close and personal. My brother on the other hand had teamed up with Colonel Mustang and was ripping apart the beast known as Pride. The little monster didn't even stand a chance. After taking a moment to evaluate the situation, I decided to join in the fight against Father, seeing as how Pride was well in hand. However even as I made my decision I saw that Father was trying to escape and what's worse, was succeeding.

No, that _thing_ shouldn't be allowed to go. If Father was able to escape then all he would have to do is wait for another opportunity. And that monster had all the time in the world to do so. 'No', I thought to myself as I barreled after the beast that started it all. I clapped my hands and visualized an array that I knew very well. After all, it was the array the signified the end of my childhood. I closed my eyes as my array hit the monster all I could think about was how sorry I was that I was leaving Al by himself. When I opened up my eyes again I saw the white expanse of Truth, with the Father lying at my feet going into convulsions, most likely from the shock of the sudden shift. Looking up I saw the all too familiar visage of Truth, it's all too wide grin looking extra wide.

"**So Mr. Al-chem-ist,"** it had said in its odd echoing voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. **"It seems that you have something to trade now. Oh goodie!"**

Despite the cheerful tone, or perhaps because of it, I could help but shudder at the things words. "And how much would he be worth?" I asked, morbidly curious.

"**Well,"** it paused, actually seeming to think on this, **"Considering how I've been looking for this one for quite some time, quite a bit."**

"Is that enough for my brother?" The question had come unbidden form my lips.

Again there was pause. **"Why what do you know, it is enough for your brother." **

"Well then, you know what I want Truth. It's an even trade."

It started laughing. **"It isn't often that someone comes to me with such a prize. I'll also throw in a long, happy life for your brother and his family. In fact since this thing here is worth much more than your brother or even any family he might have, I'll even give you another prize."**

"Wait wha-" I tried to interject but was ignored by the entity.

"**Congratulations Edward Jerimiah Elric. You shall be granted a gift that entire countries have gone to war for…"** It paused, seemingly finding great joy in what it was about to say.

"**You once asked me for more time, well now you have all the time in the world. Use it well." **

And then there was a bright white light and I found inside of a great cavern. Upon escaping the cavern I found myself looking across a vast wooded area. Inspecting myself I was surprised to find that I had aged somewhat, taking the appearance of a young man in his twenties. I was also shocked to find that both of my missing limbs had been restored. However this was all happening in the back of my mind. The majority of my thought process at the time was drowning in grief. I had won; I had done the impossible, only for it to have it all taken away by a cruel and uncaring God.

For years I traveled, seeing new people and doing new things, never staying in the same place for more than a few years all while trying to drown my grief in the thrill of discovery. I eventually found my way back to my homeland, only to find that countless years had passed since my family had lived, so many years that even the land itself was different. The only real things I found linking my homeland to the area I found was an old journal kept by one Alphonse Uriel Elric, along with some government records and newspaper clippings from both Amestris and Xing. The journal was apparently started two years after the Promised Day and it was hidden in the ground. Reading the journal, seeing for my own eyes that yes, my brother lived a long and happy life helped me tremendously. Through it I saw his travels around the world with his new love, Mei Chang, read about his discoveries, his adventures. Along with the Journal and the other documents I found were a cache of letters, to and from nearly everyone I knew. I used the letters and newspaper clippings to find out what happened to the others. Mustang finally achieved his dream, becoming the only blind man to ever run a country with his loyal lieutenant by his side, though she did need to change her name after a while. Ling became emperor, leading his people into a golden age of peace and prosperity, his chief wife and devout attendant Lan Fan remaining one step behind him. Alphonse apparently joined them on their trip home, having decided that he had seen enough of Amestris for a lifetime. The chimera pair tagged along as well. Life went well for them, living in the lap of luxury on the dime of the emperor. Nevertheless, not all of my friends and allies lives went well after I left. War broke out not five years after the Promised Day. Drachma finally discovered a way around the impenetrable wall that was Fort Briggs and its commander Major General Armstrong. They apparently used alchemy to dig tunnels through the mountains in secret, using the tunnels as an entrance into the country. North district was completely overrun by the months end with only Briggs itself remaining under Amestrian control but the Drachmian advance was stopped and pushed back. This action was not without casualties as over ten thousand men were lost, including the entirety of Fort Briggs. The Fort completely disappeared, with only barren land remaining where it once stood. Winry was another person whose life took a turn for the worse. According to Alphonse's journal after she the found out about what happened to me Winry seemed to lose all of the life and fire that made her the woman I fell in love with. It broke my heart to read about her acting that way. She travelled with Alphonse and Mei for a while, trying to pick her life back up but eventually she decided she couldn't take it and just disappeared. The only clue that I had to her fate was a letter that she wrote for Alphonse. The letter, which was included in the cache I found, said not to worry about it being a suicide letter seeing as how I would have been incredibly disappointed in her if she had killed herself but that she needed some time to test a theory of hers. Apparently Truth had told Alphonse that I wasn't dead, just gone and he had told Winry. Winry took it upon herself to try and find me, searching far and wide while relaying where she was back to Al via letters until roughly seven years after she had started the letters stopped. Either they weren't included with the other letters or, the much more likely option, she had stopped sending them. I probably spent close to three hundred years scouring the land for clues to where she might be buried, or where she died or anything to gain closure. I even created an entire information network devoted to tracking down anything related to either my homeland or Winry that spanned the known world at the time and even beyond it. After doing so I took a break, knowing that I was driving myself to insanity, only occasionally checking in on my network which had grown exponentially.

I explored the rest of the world from that point, drowning my sorrows in exploration. Back and forth I traveled across the map, until I ran out of places to go. When Columbus discovered the New World I was ecstatic, finally I had a chance to have some fun again. I jumped at the chance for a new life in the New World, being one of the first people to climb aboard one of the many ships heading that way. I found the New World fascinating, so many new things to learn and see. Setting off on my own I went inland while the others who came across with me stayed on the coast. I lost track of how much time I spent exploring the vast wilderness of North America, but to be fair when it is impossible for you to die you tend to place little things like time in the back of your mind. After satisfying my curiosity of the northern part of the New World I turned my attention to the south. The Amazon Rainforests, as they would later be called, particularly interested me and I spent several decades just exploring that section of the continent. Several of the tribal people there greeted me warmly, welcoming me into their tribe, while others drove me out by spear point or at least tried to. It was pretty funny to see their faces the first couple of times when they actually managed to kill me and I'd just come right back to life. Eventually I got bored of life in the jungle and packed my things up to head back to civilization.

Once I made it back to North America I was surprised to hear that the colonies were in the process of splitting off from Great Britain and had formed the United States of America using a democracy of all things. And although there were several bumps in the road, like the Great Depression they were in now, the country had not only succeeded but thrived. The depression did present an obstacle that my usual plans of assimilation didn't take into account and I found myself just wondering across the country looking for work, much like several thousands of Americans elsewhere at the time. However this all changed with the onset of the Second World War.

Now this was hardly the first war I had participated in. In fact I was present in almost every major war from the Hundred Year War, to the Roman Conquest of Britannia, to the American Revolution, though I had been a bit late to that one. In each of these wars I served as a doctor, a surgeon, and a battlefield medic, caring for all who were injured regardless of allegiance. The Second World War however was the first time that I actually picked a side. The atrocities committed by the Nazi party were despicable, made even more so by the fact that they were doing so on what was once my homeland. All though out the western front of the European Theatre there were stories told of men who had been shot only to be resurrected by golden lighting, that there was a golden eyed angel amongst them, sent by God to protect them. After the war I decided to stay in Europe, searching through the war torn land for any semblance of the land I had explored in my early days in this world. I had grown to love the land that my homeland had become. I found that while much of the beauty I had admired in my youth had been destroyed it would grow back even more beautiful than before. My inspection done I settled down on the outskirts of a city on the coast of Portugal called Torres Vedras. I arrived here maybe ten years ago, buying a twenty year old house on the outskirts of town. It wasn't the largest house in the market but it was big enough for me, plus it being on the fringe of society meant that I could stay longer before people figured out that I wasn't aging.

Shaking myself out of my reminiscing I closed my eyes to go to sleep, only to be surprised when I felt a tug at my mind. Recognizing the tug as a telepathic probe I scanned it for any hostile intentions. Finding none I simultaneously lowered my defenses and became on guard. I heard a deep voice emerge from the probe, speaking so fast that I could only catch a few words.

"Please…Earth…protect…danger…invasion…Imperium…genocide…Earth… helpless…spies…Metropolis…hurry."

The message was accompanied by a myriad of images of a civilization being destroyed, of invaders that seemed to be humanoids made of white and gray globs attacking and killing the inhabitants of that civilization. The defenders, a race of green humanoids with triangular heads, fought valiantly but at the end of the day they lost even more ground than before. I saw a small strike team of the defenders, the last of their kind; infiltrate the invaders' main headquarters in a last ditch effort to defeat them. Their plan was to put them in a state of suspended animation, the best they could hope for at the time, using a gas that they would release from the inside of the complex. The defenders fell one by one until there was only one left. The survivor activated one of his gas dispensers and set it off, saving himself from being killed. He then began throwing gas grenades through the area, coating the entire inside of the complex in a thick greenish yellow gas. When the smoke cleared all of the invaders were still, unable to move a single micrometer. And that's where the images stopped.

Gasping I shot out of bed, my mind running at a light year a minute. _'What was that? A threat? A warning_?' So many questions ran through my mind but I forced myself to calm down. _'Alright Ed lets be logical about this. First things first, what was the message?'_ I thought to myself as I grabbed a piece of paper and pen, sitting down at the desk in my room. I wrote down the message, or at least what I had received, and began to work it out.

Biting down on the end of my pen I ran over what I knew. I had been at this for about an hour now and I was confident that I at least knew what most of the message meant. How they fit together was an entirely different story. Thinking aloud, I worked over what I knew, "Alright, I know that there will be an invasion. When? I have no clue but apparently the invaders already have spies here. I'm not certain as to where the invasion is going to be but Metropolis is involved so that would be the best place to start. The invaders want us to be helpless but how are they going to do that? Is that what the spies are for? Do they double as saboteurs? And who is this Imperium? Is it the name of the species attacking or that of their leader or a weapon? Dammit I have the pieces I just can't figure out how they fit."

Sighing heavily I set my pen down and got up from my desk, deciding to turn on the television in order to calm my restless mind. Turning to the news, I watched as the newscaster began speaking in rapid fire Portuguese about a fire that took place yesterday in Lisbon. Tuning him out I let my mind drift for a moment, something that I did to help relax my brain. However the next topic the newscaster covered gained my complete attention.

"..It's been four months and almost one week since Carters disarmament plan. The public is mostly for it but several of the world's other heroes express their doubts about the plan…"

It makes complete sense now, I realized with a start. That was what the being was talking about. Without our nuclear weapon supply in the event of an alien invasion we would be limited to the super heroes who, while powerful, wouldn't be able to drive them off on their own. They would need to team up. "That's probably what this person who is contacting me is trying to do," I said to myself, rubbing my chin in thought, "But we would see them coming and even without nukes we would put up to much of a fight for them to easily beat us if we were prepared." I turned my attention back to the television broadcast.

"…In related news, an explosion took place at WayneTech deep space telescope tower, destroying the building and years of research in seconds. The source of the explosion is unknown but the police are investigating as we speak. We will have more for you later Bob…"

My question answered, I got up from the couch and started packing my things. If I was going to make any difference in this fight I was going to have to be where the action starts. And from what I could see center stage was going to at Metropolis, Superman's playground. My clothes packed and my belongings safely stored, I made my way to the coast line. Pausing for a moment to soak in the sight of the ocean, I hefted my duffle bag on to my shoulder and started walking. As soon as I hit the waterline I increased the water's surface tension just as I was stepping on it, golden sparks dancing across the water's surface. It was just one of the many things I've learned to do with alchemy. You'd be surprised at how easy transmutation is when you have an unlimited amount of time to figure it out and well over a hundred billion souls worth of energy inside of you. Over my travels I had honed this ability to the point where it barely took any energy or concentration to do so. I walked west, knowing that eventually I'd hit land. My last thought as I began my journey was, _'I hope that what happens next doesn't end badly.'_

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><p><strong><em>Please Review!<em>**


	2. An Immortal's Rise Part 1

**Hey guys its me Kitsune. I'm extremely sorry about the wait. Most of you guys are probably pissed off at me right now, so I'm not going to make excuses just going to state facts. I had a huge dry spell in regards to my stories in addition to having to redo a large portion of my storyline. Now I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I have around six, now five, months in which I will be able to write, muse willing. The bad news is that once those five months are up I'm not sure when the next chance for me to write will be. Ya see I just joined the Navy in the Delayed Entry Program and I ship out for Boot Camp/Basic Training on Feb 3. After Feb 3 I have another year and a half of training for my job in the Navy. You can see why I'd have a lot less time on my hands then. **

**Anyways that's the future, right now I have some more adventures of Ed the Immortal for you hungry viewers. Oh and for those who haven't read this in a while I have changed some things in the first chapter, mainly how Ed arrived to this era. I hope none of you guys are upset at the changes cause otherwise you're SOL my friend. **

**I have changed the pairing, mainly because the only reason I had Hawkgirl as the main pair at the time was because I was going through a phase where I was only attracted to red heads and I thought that Ed would only be attracted to a woman with a fiery personality. So now I am at a lost as to who I should pair him up with. There is a very large chance that Ed will end up as the focus for a harem, no more than five women, but if I get a compelling argument I might change my mind. Who knows. Send in your picks and I'll take them into consideration.**

**I will be crossing this story over with another series at some time in the future. If you guess the correct one I'll answer any question you have about the story, no matter what it is.**

**I own none of the material used below except for the plotline. Have a nice read.**

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><p>When you get past the unique sensation of walking on water the only real difference that it had from its more normal counterpart is how your pathway could change in an instant. Take for an example a storm. During a storm the waves could reach heights of over ninety feet, making what was once a semi-flat surface into an incredibly steep hill. The random storms and rouge waves also had a habit of knocking him off course, making a relatively short journey into a long and exhausting one. Luckily this wasn't the case during this particular journey seeing as how I was on a bit of a schedule.<p>

The trip itself was rather boring, the food even more so. You could only flash fry so many fish before it starts to get stale. In fact the only interesting portion of the journey was when some punk shark tried to eat me. Feh, not like that was ever gonna happen again. It sucked having to regrow that leg. Still it tasted alright, a little chewy but still good. Dull as it was I made good time, stepping on the shoreline of America in just under a month and a half.

I set up camp in the outskirts of Metropolis, remaining away from the city limits. This was for two reasons; one, it kept me away from any possible spies that had been mentioned in the message and two, it gave me space and privacy to prepare some surprises. A word of advice for any would be invaders, never give an alchemist time to prepare. It never goes well for the invaders.

My preparations were finished within the week and so, after creating some tools, I settled down for a wait. What was once an agonizing practice was now something that was not only common place but expected. When you're essentially immortal you spend a lot of time waiting, whether you like it or not. So I sat myself down, grabbed a couple of books out of my stockpile, and made last minute checks and double checks. Can never be too careful.

I was pouring over a particularly interesting scientific text on quantum physics when suddenly a ball of fire streaked across the sky, heading towards downtown Metropolis. A sense of unease overtook me as I looked up with my unnaturally sharp eyes and spotted even more following the first. Letting out a sigh of frustration I closed my book, put it away and grabbed my gear.

These were the first portion of my preparations. Shortly upon arriving on land I transmuted myself a set of armor out of some of the materials I had brought and the elements around me. The armor was thin, created from a very strong carbon fiber that was strengthened further by rearranging the carbon molecules until they were as hard as a diamond. This was actually rather difficult to do if you wanted to keep the flexibility that I needed and even harder to perfect but I had plenty of time to burn. The armor was done in an Old Norse scale style without any fur trim. Over the scale armor was a pair of extremely dense pauldrons along with equally dense pair of bracers that extended to form armored gloves. Similar greaves were strapped to my legs. The metal used to make these armor pieces was specially made for its incredible density and strength.

Despite the heavy weight that the pieces of armor had I didn't have any problems moving around. This was because of my ability to heal near instantly. My muscles were almost constantly healing themselves and this allowed me to use my body in ways that others couldn't from fear of hurting themselves. That and I cheated a little.

A long time ago, as in over a thousand years, I developed a theory. I had thought that humans unconsciously set limits to keep themselves from damaging either their bodies or their mind. These limitations could be bypassed in an emergency by pumping the body full of adrenaline, letting the people use their bodies past their normal limits at the cost of either damage to themselves or extreme exhaustion. Another example would be the so called 'bullet time' a state of mind that allows a human to process massive amounts of data, interpreting this as a state of slowed time. However I do not have to worry about damage to either my body or my mind. I'm not invulnerable by any means, my body armor proves that, it's just that I heal so quickly from the damage that it has no time to build up to dangerous levels. I could go for days doing continuous strenuous with virtually no feelings of tiredness or sore muscles. The lactic acid generated by the exercises is immediately eaten by the overabundance of soul energy that I have.

And so I immediately set out to prove my theory. I set up an open ended human transmutation circle targeting my brain using the extra energy, or mana as I call it, to compensate for the unspecific nature of the circle. Using the mana I could achieve the same effect of a philosopher's stone without the cost of a soul. It burned a lot of power but it was still a useful trump card to have.

When I activated the circle I experienced what was quite possibly the third most painful thing I had ever experienced, coming in right behind being submerged in lava but still miles behind when I interrupted Father's transmutation and turned my previously average size soul basin into a virtual ocean via flash flooding of souls. It felt like lightning bolts were being continuously cycled through my nervous system leading up to my brain and back again. In the miniscule portion of my brain unaffected by my rather stupid experiment I noticed the bright golden sparks writhing across my field of vision. When the pain, that blinding pain, finally stopped it was like I had opened my eyes for the first time. Everything was so crisp and clear, and the colors were so vibrant that it seemed more like a dream than reality. I felt a power humming through my body, just begging to be used. I remember giving this evil looking grin and breaking into a run, going faster than I ever had before. Even with the armor on I am more than capable of moving quickly and with precision. Over the armor I wore a hooded dark forest green cloak. On the back of the cloak was the symbol of both my teacher and myself, the Flamel Cross in black. But the armor and cloak were not the only things I created.

Along with my armor I transmutated myself a set of leaf tipped throwing spears, each standing at six feet in length. On the blade of each spear was a very complex transmutation circle. A pair of fourteen inch broad seaxes lay across my lower back, making an x shape with the hilts facing up. Both seaxes were extremely well made, masterful pieces of weaponry but what really made them special was that the edges and tips were covered in an incredibly thin layer of artificial diamond dust created via alchemy. This dust was shaped to have the smallest possible cutting edge while still maintaining its strength making them capable of flying through bone and flesh like it was going through water. Next to the two seaxes were my final weapons of choice, a pair of three foot long double edged Viking swords. These swords were treated to the same diamond dust edging as my seaxes but they also possessed two more features. Just above the short semi-arched cross guard of the blade was a small transmutation circle that was designed to shape the type of metal used to create my swords. This along with their second oddity, their larger than normal weight, lets me increase the reach of my swords without a moment's notice. The Norseman motif was a favorite of mine for sentimental reasons.

After gathering my things and stowing away what I wasn't taking with me I took off towards the city at a decent speed for me, which would be an Olympian worthy sprint to anyone else. My camp wasn't that far off from the city so it didn't take too long to get there. Unfortunately by the time I reached Metropolis the invasion had already begun. Giant three legged walkers scurried across the landscape laying waste to the cityscape. 'Where the hell is Superman?' I asked myself, casting a quick look around for the distinctive red and blue caped wonder. But the Man of Steel was nowhere to be found. Shaking off the odd occurrence I instead focused on the things in front of me. To my left I could see a ruined building, a good thing to notice, it could become useful later. On my right I saw a bunch of civilians peeking out from behind some rubble, watching in terror as their livelihoods were torn down around them. Going to have to keep an eye on them, make sure they stay safe. Directly in front of me however was the object of my focus. The walker stood over fifty feet tall and seemed to be made of some odd white organic material. It had a misshapen oval like head with a single red 'eye' and red markings all around. The 'eye' apparently also doubled as a laser turret, judging on how red beams were streaking out from it. I checked around real quick to make sure that there weren't any more civilians in the area using a technique that I reverse engineered from what Ling had told me about the Dragon's Pulse. The Dragon's Pulse is a type of energy that flowed through the earth from its highest point to its lowest, giving life to the world. Ling and his retinue had been able to use this energy to sense, track and communicate with their surroundings. Using what he had told me I was able to create my own version, my Echo Pulse. Instead of directly reading the Dragon's Pulse I sent out a burst of mana out in all directions and waited for the echoes of the burst to bounce back. Different objects would send back different amounts of energy. People and other mobile objects would send back more energy than immobile objects like walls and the ground which contained almost no Dragon's Pulse energy for my mana to bounce off of. The radar like ability wasn't infallible but for the purpose of trying to find civilians it was perfect.

Sensing no one I felt a grim smile slide across my face. Now I could get started.

**SHIFT**

"After over an hour of intense battle the heart of the city lies in ruins. As the devastation continues the question on everyone's lips is where is Superman? Meanwhile we are getting reports of similar objects all around the world. Dozens of these walkers have landed in Paris, Brasilia, Cairo, Moscow, and Malaysia and even more are arriving by the hour."

Even as he spoke to the camera Snapper Car could feel his hope plummet. Their soldiers were being slaughtered, their weapons were ineffective, and their heroes were nowhere to be found. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a mother clutching her crying child, fighting back her own tears as she tried to comfort her little boy. Beside her a doctor tried his best to stop a man from bleeding to death on the ground. It wasn't looking to well, judging from the look on his face. Everyone sat huddled together as the ground shook, some of them crying, others offering prayers to a god that didn't seem to be listening. Only a few were brave or foolhardy enough to peek out from behind the ruins, out onto the battlefield.

'No,' he corrected himself, 'The term battle means that there is a chance either side could win. This was a massacre.'

"Hey guys check it out," one of those who were brave enough to watch called out, catching the attention of everyone around. The young woman with bright purple spiky hair, who couldn't have possibly been more than twenty five years old, stood up and pointed up the road. "It looks like someone is still out there."

Looking to where the punkish looking woman was pointing Snapper saw that there was indeed someone still out in the open. An oddly dressed someone at that. The man was wearing a set of armor that reminded Snapper of a Viking. Over the armor the man had on a green hooded cloak that went down to what looked like mid-thigh level. He had a pair of swords at his sides and a set of spears bundled on his back with one in his right hand. The reporter tried to match his profile with any known superheroes but couldn't connect what he saw with anyone. That meant either this was a rookie hero or a poor man who was driven insane by what was happening and thought he could stop it, or both. Just as he was about to call out to the armor wearing man Snapper saw him raise his spear into the air and slam the butt down. Blue sparks danced across the ground as the landscape came alive. Stone serpents erupted from the street and bit down on the walker, dragging it down to the ground and crushing it under their grip.

Silence echoed through their little hide away. For the first time in hours Sapper felt hope return to his heart. Whoever this guy was he was certainly powerful. They might actually have a chance to get out of this.

When he broke out of his musings Sapper noticed that the man was walking towards them, the soft crunch of a boot on gravel being the only sound he made. As the armored man reached the ruins, Sapper got a better look at the man.

The armor was defiantly Viking style and from under the shadow of his hood Sapper could see a pair of eerie glowing golden eyes. However the thing that shocked him the most was how short the man was for a superhero. From a distance you really wouldn't notice but up close it was obvious. He couldn't be any bigger than five foot seven and the majority of the superheroes are at least six feet tall or somewhere around there. 'Best to not mention that,' Sapper thought to himself as the armored man got within talking distance, 'He might not like it.'

But apparently not everybody got the same memo.

One man, who was either a lawyer or a stock broker judging from the suit he wore, ruined as it was, stepped forward.

"Hey thanks a lot little guy," the oblivious man spoke up, gaining the attention of his savior in the form of a piercing venomous glare.

"Excuse me," the man said, no hissed. "But did you just call me a pint sized midget who could use a mouse hole as a doorway?"

The rather frightened lawyer took a step back, stuttering in his panic. "Uh hey man, listen…"

The man's lips curled into what was probably supposed to be a smile, only a smile wasn't supposed to show that many teeth. "Because if you did I'm gonna knock your legs off and STICK'EM ON TOP OF YOUR HEAD!" he finished in a roar, scaring the man in front of him almost to tears.

'Scary' was the shared thought of everybody there.

The Viking took a few deep breaths, seemingly calming down. Piercing golden eyes slid over the group before their owner. "Is anybody here seriously injured?" He asked as he stepped into the ruins. Sapper immediately directed their savior to their injured. He then watched in awe as their wounds were healed in a flash of golden sparks.

As soon as the miracle, and in Sapper's eyes it was a miracle, was done the hooded man stood up and addressed the group.

"Alright everybody I'm going to be opening up a small passage to the outskirts of the city. It will probably be cramped so do not rush, you might trample somebody." Blue lightning flashed as a tunnel opened up before them, a black gaping hole that would have looked intimidating in any other circumstance but now only filled them with a sense of hope. Wordlessly the man started herding them into the tunnel. However Sapper paused before he stepped into the tunnel proper.

"This won't cave in will it? What with all the fighting going around?" he asked uncertainly, not wanting to offend their savior but unable to ignore that real concern.

The man snorted. "It would if I didn't reinforce the ceiling as much as possible. As it is right now, a military grade mortar shell could get dropped directly on top of this here tunnel and it wouldn't even get a scratch. None of you guys are gonna get hurt. You're all getting out of here. No if's ands or buts about it."

And just like that all the worries that the group held were banished as if they were blades of grass on the wind. It was absurd to think that they were trusting a man that they had only just met but he seemed to have an, air around him. Like what he spoke of was absolute truth and not even God Himself could change it.

As he stepped into the tunnel, Sapper Car couldn't help but turn back and say, "You know what, I just realized. We didn't ask what your name is or who you were."

The man's eyes seemed to glint in amusement, "You can call me Ed." He was about to say something else but suddenly snapped his head towards the mountains in the distance. Ed looked around and pointed at a motorcycle that was intact, a lucky break in of itself, and apparently had its keys still in it, which was a damn miracle. "You know if that belongs to anyone?"

Sapper shook his head in a negative even as he tried to get his mind back on track. 'What kind of superhero calls himself Ed?' He asked himself as he watched their hero speed off in a roar.

**SHIFT**

As I revved the engine of my mechanical mount, easing as much speed out of it as I could, my mind couldn't keep from racing at a breakneck speed. The visions that I received over a month ago were reviewed, dissected and run through over and over as I looked for anything I might of missed the first few times I did this. While I was getting those civilians out I got a second vision along with a message.

_Come. Hurry._

And so I commandeered myself a motorcycle, transmuted a harness for my spears, and rode my way through the city, heading for a mountain range that lied west to the city. I was probably committing over a hundred traffic violations but I couldn't quite get myself to care at the moment. As I weaved through the ruined city I noticed a walker charging up at me, its tripod style legs scurrying to try and intercept my path. A smirk slid across my face as I grabbed one of my spears from my harness. With the tip of my spear pointed to the heavens I started to charge up the transmutation circle. This particular circle was one of my favorite creations. It was a two part reaction. First it manipulated the atmosphere around me, separating and focusing the positive and negative charges in the clouds above me, positive on top and negative on the bottom. If there weren't any large enough clouds over me or my target I'd use alchemy to condense the water molecules in the sky into a large cloud. Luckily there were quite a few large clouds in the vicinity today. By pushing the lighter particles higher into the clouds and dragging the heavier particles down to the bottom I primed the atmosphere, getting it ready for the second part of the transmutation.

Seeing the walker getting closer, I switched my grip on the spear from a jousting position to that of a throwing position. I hurled the missile at the alien war machine, sending it whistling into the air at a breakneck speed until it embedded itself into the semi-organic armored skin of the walker. The spear didn't go that far into the skin but that wasn't its purpose. It was then that the second part of the transmutation kicked in.

The spear started to spark as it drew in every positive particle in the vicinity, serving as a magnet for the particles to converge upon. This concentration of positive particles was much higher than what would naturally occur, making an absolute path for the charge to travel to in addition to making it bigger than usual. This entire process was almost instantaneous and was virtually impossible to block.

**CRRAAACKK!**

A bolt of lightning streaked down from the clouds above, hammering in to the walker like the fist of an angry God. Once the flash died down all that was left of the alien war machine was a smoking, bubbling wreck. The entire head of the walker was almost cut in half, with only a little bit of it remaining together. There was absolutely no chance of it surviving that. I paid the wreckage little notice as I sped fast it, focusing more on where I was going.

A minute or two later I noticed a group of what I assumed to be the invaders. They stood over six feet tall, with bodies that seemed to be made of white, black and red goo. These creatures appeared to have no necks, just elongated heads without a mouth or even a pair of eyes.

'So how do they see,' I asked myself as I came up on the group, obviously a patrol or hunter squad. My reason for wondering this was that if you know how they see you could blind them. At times the only way to win was to use everything you have at your disposal, including your enemies' strengths and weaknesses. Unless you know what your enemy can and cannot do then you're going in blind, and that is a good way to get yourself killed. 'No matter, I'll just have to destroy them entirely.' There were eight of them, seven of them with what appeared to be laser guns in their arms and the last with a smaller version of the laser gun in one hand and the other arm ended in a point, making what looked like a sword. That last one was probably an officer, going to have to take that one out first.

They only noticed me once I got within thirty feet of the patrol. The leader started barking out orders in its weird gibberish sounding language but by then it was too late.

Time seemed to slow down as I entered a state of mind I called bullet time. I locked the steering for the motorcycle I was on and drew a sword with my left hand and a spear in my right. Sparks erupted across the length of my sword and spear as they extended an additional two feet, making them five feet and eight long in total respectively. Once I reached the group of invaders I thrust my spear forward, running three of them through the center of their torso and impaling the sparking blade of the spear into the head of a third, letting go of the shaft as I did so. I swung the sword in my left hand at the same time, cutting another three in half with the diamond edged blade. I reached back with my free hand and whipped out one of my seaxes, cutting the head off of the officer as I did so before returning the long knife to its sheath.

**CCRRRAAACK! **

The crack of lightning broke behind me, creating a flash of light and a rush of heated air. Time sped back up to its normal speed. I took a quick look back and saw that my idea had worked. The squad that I had just eliminated was now nothing more than a pile of burn, electrified goo plastered across the ground and walls. A savage grin worked its way onto my face as I shortened the length of my sword and slid it into its sheath.

'Nothing like the smell of your enemies burning,' I thought with primal glee. That was always a problem with me. After a battle, even one as short as the one I just participated in, I was always pumped full of endorphins. I would feel so incredibly giddy that some part of me, a very small part of me that was deep, deep down, couldn't wait for more.

Shaking off my feelings of elation, I instead focused on my destination. My insanely ridiculous reaction time served me well here as I weaved through the trees and around various obstacles in my path. In the distance I could hear explosions and the sound of laser fire. And then the sounds stopped. There was a pause in the noise in which I sped along my route until I noticed what looked like two alien fighter craft flying overhead. Locking my steering again, I took out my last two spears, one in each hand, and sent them flying.

**CCRRAACKKK!**

For the third time that day lightning was bent to the will of someone other than Mother Nature. The fighters spun out of control, spitting out fire and smoke, and crashed into the forest floor. I disengaged the steering lock and continued on my way, hungering for answers. And there was nothing in heaven, earth or hell itself that was going to stop me.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of chapter two. Please review and tell me what you think. Have a wonderful day.<strong>


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